Events Spotlight: September 25
What are you doing to celebrate the third day of Banned Books Week? Here are a few suggestions for events around the country!
Be sure to visit the Banned Books Week event page at https://bannedbooksweek.org/events/, where you can find events happening all over the world! If you’re hosting an event, let us know about it by completing this form — we’ll add it to the map!
Don’t forget to tag @BannedBooksWeek and #BannedBooksWeek on Twitter and Facebook when you share your Banned Books Week adventures!
Let’s take a look at how people are celebrating today…
Banned Books Week Coalition Events
Speaking Out: Voicing Movements in the Face of Censorship
Webinar, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. PT
Join the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, SAGE Publishing, and Index on Censorship for “Speak Out: Voicing Movements in the Face of Censorship.” In this Banned Books Week webinar, authors will engage in conversation on writing, activism, and speaking out. How have they used their words to speak out about something that has been silenced? What is the difference between being a voice of and for a movement? And what will it take for America to be censorship free in both oral and written word?
Our featured speakers include:
- Brandy Colbert, award-winning author of various fiction works including Little & Lion, a story that touches on the intersection of race, sexuality, and religion
- Alex Gino, author of George, an award-winning and heartwarming middle grade book about a transgender girl
- Marni Brown, acclaimed author of Gendered Lives, Sexual Beings, a textbook lauded for its intersectional framework, and an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Georgia Gwinnett College
The webinar will be moderated by Jemimah Steinfield, Deputy Editor of the award-winning Index on Censorship magazine.
Register for the webinar at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6749024865921094915
Image Comics Livestream: Pornsak Pichetshote
Twitch, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. ET
Image Comics is celebrating Banned Books Week with Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and The Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table of the American Library Association by producing a week of Library Livestreams featuring creators Nick Dragotta (EAST OF WEST), Grace Ellis (MOONSTRUCK, Lumberjanes), Pornsak Pichetshote (INFIDEL), Charles Soule (CURSE WORDS), and Skottie Young (I HATE FAIRYLAND, BULLY WARS, MIDDLEWEST).
Simply visit the Image Comics Twitch page at https://www.twitch.tv/imagecomics. All webinars will run from 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. EST and will include a discussion between moderator and creator for 40-45 minutes; followed by 15-20 minutes of Q&A participation with live audience. No registration is required to view these livestreams.
Banned Together: A Censorship Cabaret—Buffalo, New York
Nichols School, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. ET
Join the Dramatists Legal Defense Fund, in partnership with PEN America, as they present Banned Together: A Censorship Cabaret during Banned Books Week 2018 (September 23-29). This lively celebration of songs and scenes from shows that have been censored or challenged on the American stage raises awareness around issues of censorship and free expression in theater. The performances will feature selections from Chicago, Spring Awakening, Cabaret, Rent, and Angels in America, among other notable works. Buffalo, NY, based actor, director, and theatre educator Kristen Tripp Kelley will direct Nichols high school students and alumni in a collection of previously censored scenes and songs. The ensemble is proud to join with Banned Together artists and citizens around the country in the promotion of our freedom of expression.
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/banned-together-2018-western-new-york-tickets-48878975331
Banned Together: A Censorship Cabaret—St. Louis, Missouri
Tesseract Theatre, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. CT
Join the Dramatists Legal Defense Fund, in partnership with PEN America, as they present Banned Together: A Censorship Cabaret during Banned Books Week 2018 (September 23-29). This lively celebration of songs and scenes from shows that have been censored or challenged on the American stage raises awareness around issues of censorship and free expression in theater. The performances will feature selections from Chicago, Spring Awakening, Cabaret, Rent, and Angels in America, among other notable works.
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/banned-together-st-louis-tickets-49681392382
Censored: Inside the Lord Chamberlain’s Office (British Library)
September 25 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm BST
When: Tue 25 Sep 2018, 19:00 – 20:30
Where: Knowledge Centre The British Library 96 Euston Road London NW1 2DB
Tickets: From £8 to £12 via British Library
50 years after the Lord Chamberlain’s Office stopped censoring British theatre,Kathryn Johnson, Steve Nicholson and Dan Rebellato shed light on the inner workings of the former ‘fun police’. They are joined by writer and director Vinay Patel, author of the smash-hit BBC drama Murdered by My Father, who writes a short scene especially for the occasion which is performed and censored on the night.
How did censorship used to work? How could playwrights play the system? And what was the cost of censorship for society? Drawing on a wealth of examples and anecdotes from the Lord Chamberlain’s archive, held by the British Library, our panel of experts discover what would have got you into trouble (and clever ways you might have got around it…)
Hosted by The British Library as part of Banned Books Week UK 2018. More info…
Dear Banned Author Letter Writing Campaign (all week)
Dear Banned Author is a letter-writing campaign hosted by the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. During Banned Books Week (September 23-29), readers are encouraged to write to their favorite banned or challenged authors, sharing what their stories meant to them. The goal of the campaign is to not only raise awareness of books that are threatened with censorship and support authors, but also encourage thoughtful discussions about the power of words and how essential it is to have access to a variety of viewpoints in libraries. Authors also have shared fan letters as support when there’s a public challenge to their books.
ALA OIF has a number of tools to facilitate programming around the Dear Banned Author Letter-Writing Campaign at http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/dear-banned-author
Project Censored (all week)
Project Censored will celebrate Banned Books Week with several guests representing a variety of perspectives on censorship and advocacy for the right to read. Find the show at the Project Censored website, https://projectcensored.org/, during Banned Books Week.
Other Events
Censura a impressos no Brasil: da colônia aos dias atuais – Censorship to printed in Brazil: from the colony to the present day
September 25 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm UTC-4
Biblioteca Central da Universidade de Brasília, Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro, Gleba A, UnB
Asa Norte, Brasília – DF, 70910-900 Brazil
This lecture will present the multiple facets of censorship of books and periodicals in Brazil, going through all historical periods since the colonization. There will also be some censored titles that we have in the Rare Books Sector, such as the periodicals Correio Braziliense periodicals (1808), Pasquim e Movimento, the book Mein Kampf of Hitler, among others. More info…
Banned Books Week at Marist College: Uncensored Readings & Banned Book Bingo
September 25 @ 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm EDT
Marist College, 3399 North Rd.
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 United States
Join us for Banned Book Bingo and Uncensored Readings! Banned Book Bingo will take place on Monday, September 24th, 7 – 9:00 pm in the Cabaret and Uncensored Readings will be on Monday, September 24th and Tuesday, September 25th from 12 – 4:00 pm in the Library Lobby. If you would like to get involved as a reader, please email Emily.Doyle@marist.edu. Also, don’t forget to check out a book this month from our Banned Books display that will be on the main floor of the library during Banned Books Week! More info…
Indy Celebrates the Freedom to Read!
September 25 @ 12:00 pm – September 30 @ 8:00 pm EDT
Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library, 340 N Senate Ave
Indianapolis, IN 46260 United States
The Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library is celebrating the freedom to read and expression of ideas during Banned Books Week!
This year, Ball State University English professor Rai Peterson will be living in the front window of KVML as our prisoner. For the entire week she will be imprisoned behind a wall of banned books, while joining the community in exploring censorship and challenged works.
From September 24-29, we invite you to join our prisoner for readings and discussions with guests such as Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, IUPUI professor Trevor Potts, Hunter S. Thompson’s son Juan Thompson, playwright Kenneth Jones, and more!
Not only are we supporting banned books, but also mental health awareness and our year of programming theme Lonesome No More. Kurt Vonnegut’s daughter Nanette will share her family’s story and struggle with mental health challenges. More info…
Harvard Law School 3rd Annual Read-Out
September 25 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT
Harvard Law School Library: front steps, 1545 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02138 United States
Bring your lunch and join us on the steps of the HLS Library as members of the Harvard community read excerpts from our favorite banned books. We’ll be reading from classic literature, children’s picture books, and everything in between! More info…
Film Viewing: Good Morning, Vietnam
September 25 @ 2:30 pm – 5:30 pm PDT
Mt. San Antonio College Library, 1100 N. Grand Ave
Walnut, CA 91789 United States
In honor of Banned Books Week, Mt. SAC students voted to watch the film, Good Morning, Vietnam. Join us to watch the film and see how individuals deal with attempts to censor the news. More info…
Banned Books Out Loud
September 25 @ 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm EDT
Rochambeau Library, 708 Hope Street
Providence, RI 02906 United States
Library Staff will be reading aloud from Banned Books in the Children’s Library at the Rochambeau Library. Kids five and up may stop in to enjoy excerpts from Banned Books and color along! More info…
Books on the Chopping Block
September 25 @ 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm CDT
Free Dramatic Readings by City Lit Theater Company of excerpts from the Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books in America, as compiled by the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual freedom.
Today’s event:
Tuesday 9/25, 4:30PM – Edgewater Branch
6000 N. Broadway, Chicago, IL
Intellectual Freedom Panel
September 25 @ 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm CDT
Kingsville Public Library, 6006 Academy Street
Kingsville, OH 44048 United States
Join us September 25th from 5:00 to 7:00 PM in the Simak Welcome Center to engage with our community panel members as we discuss the importance of your right to read! Esteemed panel members for the evening will be: KSUA Library Sciences Professor Amy Thomas, LEADERship Ashtabula County Director Laura Jones, State Representative and former Teacher Dr. John Patterson, KSUA Adjunct Professor of Justice Studies Dr. Richard Dana, and retired Geneva Area City Schools Superintendent,Mary Zappitelli. More info…
Banned Books Jeopardy
September 25 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm EDT
Ezra Lehman Memorial Library, 1871 Old Main
Shippenburg, PA 17257 United States
We’ll take banned books for $1000, Alex. More info…
Banned Books Week Discussion: The Freedom to Read
September 25 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm PDT
Lake Oswego Public Library, 706 Fourth Street
Lake Oswego, OR 97034 United States
Our local school librarian will lead a discussion, co-facilitated with students from the two local high schools, of the freedom to read and ways it is threatened. The audience will discuss books that have been challenged or banned in recent years, with a focus on the ALA’s top 10 most challenged books of 2017. Why were these books challenged, and what are the best ways to respond to those challenges. Each of the high-school students will also talk about her or his favorite banned or challenged book. More info…